Clarksville School Board moves forward on new high school

CLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville School Board recently voted to move forward with the design of the new high school with construction estimated to begin in late spring or early summer.

Superintendent David Hopkins said the new facility, which has been planned for about four years to handle enrollment growth, will be built across from the Primary School on property the school purchased several years ago.

“We are busting at the seams as it is right now,” Hopkins said. “The new campus will have the capacity to house 630 students. Right now we have 554 students in the high school.”

Hopkins said the difference between 554 and 630 students might sound like there won't be much room for growth, but, the size of the new school is based on state specs, a mandatory regulation. The project is estimated to cost $19 million with $4.6 million funded through the state.

“The way things are now, everything runs through the state,” Hopkins said. “The state specs are based on a 10-year projection. The state won’t give funds if they don’t see the need is there. If the district continues to grow outside of the projection, we can go back and ask for more funds to add on later.”

To allow additions to the campus later, the design plans call for four buildings — a main building, a cafeteria and fine arts building, a gym and space for physical education in a third building and a vocational classes building — spaced apart to allow for additions and minimal disruptions to the main building during construction. Construction of the new campus is projected to take two years if everything runs smoothly.

Hopkins said people may feel that because the project has been talked about for the past four years, it should be further along than it is. “I know people would like to physically see work done now, but we want to make sure it is done right,” he said. “The time we’re in right now is critical to get the plans the way they need to be.”